MINI USA Sales Down in Q3 as New Models Finally Begin Arriving at Dealers
MINI USA sales were down 33% from the previous year, despite the introduction of all-new models. However, this decrease likely reflects less on the cars themselves and more on availability issues and a poorly timed recall and stop sale.
MINI’s sales in the U.S. totaled 5,284 vehicles in the third quarter of 2024, a 33% decrease compared to the 7,900 vehicles sold in the third quarter of 2023. To put that in perspective, this is less than the total number of highly profitable X7s BMW sold in the same period.
We identify three key reasons for this decline. The first and most critical is inventory. While inventory levels have increased, they were not sufficient for dealers throughout the quarter.
Second is the recent the recall and stop sale of cars already on the lot. The issued is involving the braking system on a large range of cars and has frustrated dealers as its directly affected sales.
Finally, there has been a lukewarm response from some current MINI fans regarding the new models. While it’s unclear how much this has impacted sales, it is evident from comments on MotoringFile and social media channels.
Mini is looking to sell its Chinese electric production, which not many people are interested in, as for the thermal Hatch, it’s just a facelift and more expensive.
All this is not exciting.
2-door Cooper movement was relatively flat and is still compelling so the only new product sales dip was the all-new Countryman which I can see as a polarizing design and confusing/limited options configurations compared to the outgoing F60 but it’s also their only electric. New 4-door Cooper wasn’t available for the entire quarter with convertible not even released yet and the Clubman is completely gone so that’s 2,000 units lost between them all.
It would seem to me that some of the softness in Q3 has to be logistical delays in rolling out the new models, and the recall/stop-sale certainly didn’t help that.
My personal experience is that I ordered my Countryman SE on day one in July, and here it is Q4 and I’m still waiting for a call from my dealer telling me it’s arrived. My car sat in the “Quality Check” stage for over a month, so there was clearly some production and/or transportation delays.
I find it shocking that MINI sales would slow down because of resistance to the new designs. I think this is the best MINI redesign <em>ever</em>. It perfectly embraces the future of automobiles while keeping the spirit of MINI alive. And I strongly believe that the spirit of MINI is vibrant individualism, not the shape the headlights had last year!